Operation Safe Summer nets two dozen arrests

June 4, 2014

Two dozen adults police say were looking to meet and have sex with underage teens were arrested this week as the Lee County Sheriff's Office completed a week-long sting Monday called Operation Safe Summer.

All were charged with between two and six felonies for obscene communication on a computer to seduce or solicit a child and/or travel to meet afterward and using a two-way device to facilitate a felony, officials said.

"These are things that Sheriff Mike Scott has adamantly stated he will not tolerate," said spokesperson Lt. Jeff Dektas.

Nearly 40 deputies, detectives and agents locally and statewide worked to identify and apprehend those accused, who range in age from 20 to 74. The suspects used social networking to make plans to meet and commit sexual acts with a "14-year-old."

The Sheriff's Office placed ads in numerous social media sites and chat rooms, which were not disclosed.

Conversations then took place online, some of which were "very graphic," said Sheriff's Office Lt. James Amrich.

The suspects were given the address to an unspecified Lee County home, where they travelled, officials said, adding once they reached the door and made contact with the undercover officer, the arrests took place.

Some of those arrested also were in possession of narcotics.

Three suspects live in Cape Coral, one lives in North Fort Myers, nine were from Fort Myers and seven were from Lehigh Acres. There were two others from Punta Gorda, with the other two from outside the area.

Amrich said the fact that so many came from such a small area was just a random circumstance.

What isn't a coincidence is that they came from online advertisement, and that parents need to be vigilant about what their children are doing on the internet, Amrich said.

"These are typically your common networking sites that children and adults go onto for social media," he said. "As a parent you need to monitor what your children are doing on their media devices. You'd be surprised some of the sites they're are going on."

The sting, which took place from May 27 until June 2 and took three months of preparation, was executed with the help of the Special Victim's Unit, the Correction's Bureau, the FBI Innocent Images Task Force, the Florida Dept. of Law Enforcement, Homeland Security, the State's Attorney's Office, and police and sheriff's offices throughout Southwest Florida.

"That's what makes us so great. We're not only on the street, but we're on the internet, the phone lines, everywhere we need to be..," Detkas said.